Dangers along the Mississippi

Here we are, just a few days since two sewer workers were swept to their deaths in the Mississippi, and another disaster has hit the river. I was at Dairy Queen when someone told us that the 35W bridge collapsed. I never drive along that stretch (I stick mostly south of the river in Mpls, and far east of 35W in St. Paul), so I actually had to look at a map before I was sure of where it was.
People keep saying that you just don't see that type of thing in Minnesota. It's repeated over and over by witnesses in the Strib. But obviously it can, and apparently does happen here. Maybe that's part of the problem. You always hear Minnesotans saying that the bad things that happen elsewhere just can't happen here: no earthquakes like San Francisco or hurricanes like New Orleans. Only tornadoes, which never take out major portions of infrastructure. Perhaps our sense that it won't ever happen to us has made us complacent about our civic works. Or maybe you just can't ever be sure, and no amount of monitoring or engineering will make it perfect. Every bridge is a one-off affair, and we can't crash test them like a minivan.
It's remarkable how much you just have to trust that the things around you will work. As if I don't get nervous enough riding along on the lower section of the Washington Ave bridge as it is! Tomorrow will probably be twice as crowded and just as creepy.
Check out the Strib's photo gallery.